Archives for 2007

We are always being reminded to label all our old photographs so that future generations know who is in them, and this is good advice. How many photos have we seen of our parents, grandparents, and further back if we are lucky, and we do not know who is in them and neither does any one else? A simple label on the back would have been so helpful! So yes, we should write on the back of the photos, with a soft pencil, at least a 2B or 3B, and include as much information as we have or can find out - … [Read more...]

Elizabeth Shown Mills, author of Evidence! : citation & analysis for the family historian and Evidence explained : citing history sources from artifacts to cyberspace has rewritten the definition of "Genealogy" on Wikipedia, or at least the first two paragraphs. Her text, as she informed* the mailing list of the Association of Professional Genealogists, was as follows:
"Genealogy (from Greek: ?e?ea, genea, "family"; and ?????, logos, "knowledge"; often misspelled "geneology."[1]) is the … [Read more...]

A post from Ancestry.com about how little Americans in general know about their family history has surprised me. In summary, the results are:
Most 18- to 34–years-old Americans (83%) are interested in learning their family history. For older age groups the percentages were increasingly smaller.
Half of Americans know the name of only one or none of their great-grandparents.
One in five Americans don’t know what either of their grandfathers do or did for a living.
One in five Americans … [Read more...]

Well, I've done it, and I'm very happy. My family tree is on my phone and goes with me everywhere.
How have I achieved this remarkable feat, you may ask? Read on!
You may remember that I have been trying to replace 4 heavy little electronic gadgets with one or two. I bought a new phone, a Nokia E65, to replace my previous phone, my PDA and my MP3 player for those long trips out to repositories. My phone is wonderful, it has a microSD card, which I replaced with a bigger, 2GB, card on which I … [Read more...]

There are advantages and disadvantages to leaving your name, surnames-of-interest, and email address on the many genealogy forums and load-your-family-tree websites.
Advantages
The main advantage is, of course, that you might connect with someone who can give you vital information. That is the reason we sign up to these things in the first place. And don't be discouraged if you don't get a response straight away. The crucial person who has the family bible, or knows who has it, may not read … [Read more...]

The story so far: I want to reduce the number of electronic gadgets I carry around with me on genealogy research trips. Instead of carrying a mobile phone, a PDA, a digital camera and an MP3 player, I'd like to carry something that combines at least 2 or 3 of these functions.
Well, I've got a new phone. It's a Nokia E65 that I've bought as part of my new contract with Vodafone. I use Vodafone because it gives me reception in my house, which is down in a valley which other networks don't reach. … [Read more...]

I've been considering the gadgets I carry around with me that have been proliferating over the years. They are all very useful, even indispensable, but they do contribute rather heavily to the weight in my bag. How many of these do you have?
Phone
Of course, I have a mobile phone, as so many of us do. That's where it all started, I guess. I think this is the 4th one I've had over the years, or perhaps the 5th. The phones get smaller but I think they are probably now as small as they can be … [Read more...]

This is a big question. The Society of Australian Genealogists attempted to help find an answer for 25 or so budding genealogists earlier this month in a day-long seminar showing demonstrations of 6 different family tree programs - Family Tree Maker, Legacy, Personal Ancestral File, Reunion, something else, and The Master Genealogist.
The answer is different for everybody. I find that TMG is best for me, after doing some thorough research (as a good genealogist does!) on the features of each … [Read more...]

How on earth did we get by before we had computers? It's hard to remember now how much longer everything took and how much harder we had to work! I've been thinking lately about all the ways computers help make genealogy more enjoyable and my list keeps getting longer and longer. Perhaps you can think of other ways as well - let me know!
We have email! Remember what life was like before email? We had to read about other researchers in books or journals and write them letters, and then wait for … [Read more...]